The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the State of Arizona to file a response to our office’s Constitutional challenge to Arizona’s civil forfeiture law for wrongfully taking a woman’s family home without adequate due process, and without an adequate post-judgment remedy for Arizona property owners, in Gonzalez v. State of Arizona.

Although the State Attorney General’s office filed a form waiving the filing of a response to our Petition, the Supreme Court has requested the State of Arizona to file a formal response to our Constitutional challenge. After the response is filed in February, the high court will hold a conference on the case to decide whether or not to hear the case on the merits.

This case is a prime example of the problems with Arizona’s civil forfeiture laws, a process used by law enforcement to take away personal property or homes in a civil case but based on criminal allegations that are not proved beyond a reasonable doubt. For details on the case, you can view the docket and read our Petition here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/DocketFiles/html/Public/17-7085.html

For more information about civil asset forfeiture, or to schedule a consultation, contact Vince Rabago Law Office at (520) 955-9038. Vince Rabago is an Arizona attorney licensed to practice in state and federal court in both Arizona and California, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and is a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court.